joining me is a former spokesman for the national security council in the obama administration and aaron david miller, fellow at the woodrow wilson international center. welcome, both. first, tommy, why did it take so long for this president to get to israel? he had a lot on his plate there were enormous economic challenges to deal with back home. but not every president going to israel in his first term, george bush didn't. this is great opportunity for the president to sync up with prime minister netanyahu on iran, sir yarks the critical issues of the region where israel is in the eye of the storm. he can also speak directly to the israeli people, via a speech to a bunch of university students. >> aaron david miller, you were a middle east negotiator in a number of white houses and state departments, republican and democratic. what, how much syncing up with prime minister netanyahu do you think is going to take place, realistically? >> it's smart politics, it's smart policy, too. obama has got the most dysfunctional relationship with any israeli prime minister in the history of the u.s